Bung bushing



Sept. 18, 1945.. A. LowY 2,385,294

BUNG BUsHING Filed Junev 17, 1944 INVENTOIL' 9a7/raf? only Patented Sept. 18, 1945 Arthur Lowy, Newark, N. J., assignor to New York Engineering Company, New York, N. Y., a cor- A .poration of NewYork 'Application Junel 17, 1944, serial No. 540,853

3 Claims.

This invention relates to bushings such as`are used for receiving the bungs in barrels, and it has for its object to provide a novel and improved bushing of this type. Another object of the invention is't'o provide an improved bushing of the type' which ris expanded and permanently set in a bung hole by a special forming tool, without employing screwthreads `or spurs to prevent rotation.

' Still another object is to provide a bushing of the above type which is especially adapted for insertion in laminated bung staves and will effectively prevent the formation of checks in ,the wood even when set-in Ia counter-bore which extends beyond the depth of the outer veneer.

Various other objects and advantages will be apparent as the nature of the invention is more fully disclosed.

The bung bushing shown in A. C. Ludlum Patent #1,226,090, issued May 15, 1917, has a resilient arched external flange, a smooth tapered body portion which fits into the bung hole in a barrel stave, and an expansible inner end which is adapted to be spun over and set by a special flanging tool so that it grips the wood of the stave and seals the bushing against rotation and leakage.

For many years these bushings have been used with complete satisfaction in seasoned oak beer barrels, etc., but considerable difficulty has been experienced in applying them to laminated Wooden barrels which, because of their lightness, cheapness and other advantages, would otherwise nd a ready market in competition with the aluminum kegs which are widely used at the present time.

'I'he bung holes of wooden barrels are usually countersunk to receive the outer flange of the bushing and make it lie substantially flush with the surface of the barrel, since a protruding flange would be subject to constant jars which might result in splitting the bung stave. In the case of a laminated wooden barrel the counterbore of the bung hole extends beyond the depth of the outer wooden veneer, and this has been found to result in the formation of checks or longitudinal cracks which radiate outwardly from the edge of the counter-bore and cause leakage and destruction of the barrel.

My improved bung bushing is inserted in the bung hole in the same manner as before, but it has a specially shaped external flange including a thin peripheral lip which spans the edge of the counter-bore and grips the surrounding marginal' surface of the stave in a novel manner which prevents the formation of checks and protects the veneer of the stave 'against' accidental damage. j

Although the novel'features which are characteristic of this invention are set forthv more in detail in the claims appended hereto, the nature and scope of the invention may be better understood by referring to the following description, taken in connection with. the .accompanying drawing formingla part thereof,vin which a spe? cifc embodiment has been set forth for purposes of illustration. l In the drawing: f ju Fig. 1 is a plan view of the'bung'hole of a barrel l5 stave;

Fig. 2 isa similar view with the bushing set in place;

Fig. 3 is a cross-section showing the bushing being placed in position to be set; and

Fig. 4 is a cross-section showing the bushing set in place.

In the following description certain specific terms are used for convenience in referring to the various details of the invention. These terms,

however, are to be interpreted as broadly as the state of the art will permit.

The drawing shows a portion of a barrel comprising a laminated stave l composed of thin outer and inner veneers 2 and 3 of seasoned oak or the like, and a plurality of intermediate layers 4 of any suitable light inexpensive material such as gumwood.

A barrel constructed in this manner compares .favorably in lightness and cheapness with an aluminum barrel and, furthermore, it possesses an additional advantage over solid oak barrels in that the staves can all be made in quantity in identical shapes and sizes and used interchangeably instead of being carefully matched and fitted together as heretofore.

The stave l is bored with a tapered bung hole 5 which is countersunk as at 6. In the embodiment illustrated this counter-bore 6 extends inwardly beyond the depth of the outer veneer 2,

as shown in Figs. 3 and 4.-.

The metal bung bushing has an externally smooth body l-which is tapered to closely t the tapered bung hole 5 throughout its depth. The lower or inner end of the bushing is sharply tapered at 8 to provide a thin lower edge 9 to edge I3 and a relatively thin marginal lip I4 As a result, the rolling of the lower end of the I n bushing forms the ange II) in clamping engageH` Y ment with the inner surface `3 of the barrel stave At the i about the inner end of the .bung hole. same time the resiliently arched outer flange I2 is forced in place so that the biting edge I3 bites into the stave while the outer face of the flange is somewhat flattened to lie substantially ush with the outer surface of the stave. y When'the bushing is set, as shown in Fig. 4, the thin 'marginal lip- I4 Yof flange I2 spans the periphery of the counter-bore 6 and resiliently grips the adjacent surface 2 of the stave in which said lip I4 s slightly embedded, thus protecting the circular cut edge o'f the veneer and preventing the formation of checks or cracks'therein. Y It will be evident to those skilled in the art that the bushing disclosed herein may be used to advantage in various situations With various types of barrels, and the invention is therefore to be limited only in accordance with the Vscope of the appended claims.

The invention claimed is:

1. A bushing for a bung hole having an ex'- ternally smooth body for insertion in the bung hole of a barrel, an expansible inner end adapted to be spun over to resiliently grip the material of the barrel to prevent rotation and leakage, and a resilient arched external flange having a marginal lip of reduced thickness adapted to resiliently grip the outer surface of the barrel.

2. The combination with a Wooden barrel having a-bung hole and a counter-bore about the mouth of said bung hole, of a bung bushing seated in said bung hole and comprising an inner flange Ain clamping engagement with the inner surface of said barrel about the inner end of said bung holegand a resiliently arched outer ange seated inv said counter-bore with its outer surface substantially flush with the outer surface of said barrely and having a thin marginal lip spanning the periphery of said counter-bore and resiliently kgripping the' adjacent surface of said barrel to protect same against the formation of checks.

3. The combination with a laminated barrel stave having a thin outer wooden veneer and a bung hole therein having a counter-bore extending' inwardly beyond the'de'pth of said veneer, of a bung bushing comprising an externally smooth body seated in said bung hole', an inner ange in clamping engagement with the inner surface oi said stave about the inner end of said bung hole, and a resiliently arched outer fiange seated in said counter-bore substantially flush with the outer surface of said stave and having a thin marginal* lip spanning the periphery of said counter-bore and resiliently gripping the adjacent surface of said stave to prevent the formation of checks therein.

ARTHUR LOWY. 

